NOT SO FUNNY

Black comedy or dark humor are terms used to describe movies that are violent yet funny at the same time. I’m a fan of some of these movies. “Trainspotting”, “Pulp Fiction”, “Fargo”, “Heathers”, “American Beauty”, “Secretary” & “Die Mommie Die!” are just a few good examples of this genre done right.

However, they don’t always turn out as promised. Below are some examples of movies that I went into thinking they were gonna be funny, but really were NOT. I felt completely ripped off. Nothing worse than sitting down for a relaxing evening, popping the DVD in – thinking you’re gonna laugh & you don’t! Movies like this make me want my money back!

HAPPINESS (1998)– Sometimes you can judge a movie by the cover. “Happiness” is NOT one of those movies. I saw & enjoyed “Welcome to the Dollhouse”. I thought this would be right up my alley. I really enjoy Phillip Seymour Hoffman. I think he’s a fantastic actor. I rented this one night interested to see these various stories of suburbia played out. This is one of those movies that you only need to see once. I guess the movie as a whole was alright, but sometimes I just don’t like to see certain things in movies. Pedophilia & rape are 2 of those things. This movie has all that & more! Don’t rent this thinking you’re gonna LOL a lot & aren’t easily offended. This movie is bleak & unforgiving. I really think it should’ve been classified as a drama.

IGBY GOES DOWN (2002)– Jeff Goldblum was really good in this movie about a really dysfunctional family. He’s been good in other movies too (Jurassic Park & The Fly). But he played Igby’s drug using, bed-hopping, abusive godfather role to the max! This movie is about a boy (Igby – played by Kieran Culkin) who’s very unpopular. Not just at school, but at home as well. His mother sends him off to military school where he’s beaten w/ broomsticks. Not really my kind of humor! This was compared to “Catcher in the Rye”. I think people are too quick to use that to compare teen angst. This movie was ok, yes. However, like other movies mentioned in this rant, it’s not really a ha-ha comedy. Can we call these “Dromedies” maybe?

BAD SANTA (2003)– Billy Bob Thornton has been able to do 2 great things since coming to Hollywood…”Sling Blade” & Angelina Jolie. That’s it. I know others disagree w/ me on this pick, but I really didn’t find anything funny about an alcoholic who dresses up as a jolly old elf. Billy Bob is a thief, blah blah blah…I got about ½ hr into this & shut it off because I just didn’t care about any of the characters or anything else that was going on around them. Feel free to watch at your own risk. Personally, if I want a funny movie about a grown man in an elf suit, it’ll be Will Ferrell in “Elf”.

LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE (2006) – The previews showed this as a fun-filled family road trip to take Abigail Breslin to a beauty pageant. “Vacation” was a fun-filled family road trip…LMS is certainly not! Steve Carrell is funny as hell. He just got done “40 Year Old Virgin” (which I previously identified as a “gut buster”). I thought for sure this movie would be funny. Boy was I wrong! There were a few parts that made me chuckle – like the whole scene with the van rolling along & everyone trying to jump inside. Other than that, it wasn’t very funny. Everyone had their own issues. Let’s put ‘em all together in a VW bus to travel cross-country & hilarity will ensue! No, I don’t think so. The characters put in good performances, but this is just another drama marketed as a comedy because a funny guy was in it. I think they did the same thing w/ Adam Sandler in “Punch Drunk Love”. There’s another movie that wasn’t very funny.

CHOKE (2008) – Yet another dysfunctional family unit! I don’t even know where to start on this one. I guess because I loved “Fight Club” & expected the same thing out of this movie. I didn’t get that – at all. Here’s another movie where they show the 3 funny parts in the commercial/trailer & you’re duped into thinking this is a comedy. Nope, sorry, didn’t do it for me. My hubby & I sat down for a Saturday movie night thinking we were gonna see something funny. The first 5 minutes were so promising! It went downhill from there. It follows the story of Victor, a sex addict/con man son of Anjelica Huston who has lots of her own issues (how Victor got his I guess) & is now suffering from dementia. I had a grandfather w/ Alzheimer’s. This really touched a nerve & I wasn’t enjoying it one bit. Anyone who’s gone through that w/ a loved one knows what it’s like to see someone slip away from reality. It’s not pleasant or funny. Maybe it put me in Victor’s shoes too much & hit too close to home for me. But, even so, I watched the whole thing expecting it to get better and/or funnier. It didn’t. If you enjoyed “Fight Club” & want to watch something similar, watch “Fight Club” again. Just be sure you don’t tell anyone about it.

SUNSHINE CLEANING(2008) – Dysfunctional families seem to have a common theme in these dark “comedies”. Here’s another movie (like “Choke”) where they showed the funny bits in the commercial/trailer. I really thought they could do a lot w/ the subject – 2 sisters go into the crime scene clean-up business. That really could’ve been funny – but it wasn’t! Really, I should've known better as this movie was done by the same folks who did "Little Miss Sunshine"! Amy Adams played 1 of the sisters – supposedly the “normal” one. However, she’s got a kid by a guy that she’s been having an affair w/ since high school, her sister’s an even bigger loser & their dad is always making promises he can’t keep. I thought I would like this movie, but by the end (which had me crying) – I was so mad that I’d been suckered again!!! I don’t ever think I will trust another movie w/ “Sunshine” in the title again!

Next time you’re going to choose a movie, choose w/ great caution. Otherwise, you’re gonna put that DVD in & be seriously disappointed. Good luck!